Bill would help protect bicyclists, 'vulnerable road users'

Published 7:00 pm, Saturday, April 4, 2009

A 53-year-old Midland man who had been riding his bicycle back toward the Tall City nearly a year ago today was killed when he was struck from behind by a pickup truck.

The driver of the truck hadn't seen Johnny Carlos Newton pedaling along the Highway 191 south frontage road that day. Law enforcement officials said he was talking on a cell phone and had been distracted.

When he looked up it was simply too late. Though Newton had been wearing a helmet, he died soon after at Midland Memorial Hospital from injuries sustained during the accident.

Such incidents, cycling advocates say, are too frequent and could be reduced with the passing of House and Senate bills moving through the Texas Legislature this session that would require motorists to provide any "vulnerable road user" with three feet of space when passing.

Whether such laws would have saved Newton when he was struck April 8, 2008, will never be known. But locals and other advocates say it could help save other cyclists, runners and others who legally use the roadway without the protective covering of a car and its airbags and safety features.

Cyclists in Midland-Odessa, he said, actually fair better than those in the hill country because when sticking to places like Highway 191 access roads, they usually can be seen for miles before a car ever gets near them.

However, if passed, he and others said, the bill could help create a mentality among drivers statewide to look out for cyclists, pedestrians and others.

"Nobody expects a police man will sit on a street to see if three feet are given," said James Forrest, a representative with the Texas Bicycle Coalition.

Instead, he said, they hope it creates a new norm among drivers that every time drivers see a cyclist, runner or other vulnerable road user, they pass with extra space.

Plus, he said, it will make it easier for prosecutors when trying to charge or cite someone for hitting a vulnerable road user. Similar to the following too closely law, he said, people aren't often ticketed for following too closely, but when an accident occurs the law can be used to prosecute the person whose tailgating caused the crash.

"The true intent is to create a culture of awareness for bike safety," he said. "If you make people feel safe they will bike more and they will run more and just overall do more activities."

About 50 cyclists each year are killed in vehicle accidents, according to the Texas Bicycle Coalition. Nearly half of those deaths occur when the vehicle is traveling in the same direction on the roadway.

The bills, filed with similar wording in both the House and Senate, would require three feet of space be given when passing any "vulnerable road user," which includes cyclists, pedestrians, equestrians, farmers on tractors, those riding ATVs and others, according to the bill. It also would provide penalties for any throwing items at these vulnerable road users when passing by.

Similar bills have been filed in previous sessions, but were worded specifically to protect cyclists. By expanding to other groups of road users, lobbyists say the legislation has seen little to no opposition in the legislature, where it passed through the Senate Transportation Committee last week and is scheduled for a hearing in the House Transportation Committee in the coming weeks.

"It's not us against them," Crowell said. "It's just sharing that resource and being careful."

John Beane at Peyton's Bikes agreed and said it would help people to remain aware of who's on the road at all times - something he said will become increasingly important as future gas prices may drive larger crowds of cyclists into roadways.

Forrest said some legislators opposed previous versions of the bill because they didn't want to offer special consideration to cyclists. However, he said, with the need to reduce traffic and pollution continuing to grow, combined with increasing efforts to combat obesity, anything to encourage physical activity is gaining support.

According to studies in other states, cyclists are more likely to be hit when commuting to work. Forrest said that fear prevents many people from biking and is something they also hope could be overcome with this bill.

In Midland, cyclists said biking in town can be dangerous, especially on busy roadways where people often don't pay attention. The Biker's Association tends to stick to county roadways or paths between the Tall City and Odessa where they're visible and not in congested areas.

Forrest emphasized they have support of Austin police and other law enforcement around the state as well as advocacy groups for runners, tow truck operators who stop in roadways to offer assistance and other groups.

"It's not just a bunch of liberal bike riders running around making up new laws," he said.

-The Texas House tentatively approved a 10-percent tax that would be levied on all adult book store sales and profits made at nude dancing clubs. The 10 percent tax on sales and admission fees to such places will replace the $5 per person tax imposed on strip clubs during the last session.

-A Senate bill that would increase the age from 21 to 25 for foster children to receive tuition exemptions at state universities passed Thursday. The bill would also ensure dual-credit course fees were included in the statute and say increasing the qualifying age is necessary because studies show foster children often take more time to mature.

-A Senate bill passed that would allow victims of abuse to terminate a lease without penalty. Currently victims can only break a lease without fines if the incident is documented and the perpetrator is on the lease with them, which the bill's author said left many women paying fines or deciding to stay in dangerous situations.

-Men who were mislead into believing they were the father of a child would be exempt from future support of the child and could legally terminate the parent-child relationship if genetic testing proved they were not related.

-A House bill was passed that will require all businesses receiving more than 50 percent of their revenue from alcohol sales be at least 1,000 feet away from public and private schools. Such a distance is currently required for private schools, but the distance for public schools had not been updated to match. The requirement would not be retroactive and would only effect newly established businesses.